Protective Garment

ABSTRACT

A protective garment  1  having an outer layer  2  and a protective inner layer  3 , wherein the protective inner layer  3  lines substantially the whole of the inside of the garment  1  and the inner layer  3  is secured to the outer layer  2  only at corresponding edges of the inner and outer layers which occur at openings of the garment.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates in general to protective garments. In particular,the invention is applicable to protective garments worn/used bymotorcyclists and it is convenient to describe it in this manner.However, it should be noted that the invention is not limited to thisapplication.

BACKGROUND TO THE INVENTION

Motorcycles and scooters do not offer much protection when themotorcycle or scooter rider is involved in an accident. Significantinjury can occur if a rider falls off their motorcycle or scooter, evenwhen the rider is only travelling at low speed. Therefore it is prudentfor riders to wear protective clothing when riding.

Conventionally riders wear leather garments to protect themselves frominjury. Leather is often worn because it is resistant to abrasion andprovides protection to the skin if a rider falls off and impacts theground.

Leather garments, however, are not always seen as fashionable and insome instances it is not appropriate to wear leather. In addition, inthe summer, leather garments can cause the rider to become excessivelywarm and uncomfortable when not riding and so the rider must considercarrying a change of clothing to wear when they arrive at theirdestination. This is obviously not desirable.

It has been known to use protective shields which are supportedexternally to the riding garment or are secured to an external surfaceof the garment. This is also not desirable as the garment still takesthe appearance of clothing for motorcycle riding and is cumbersome towear for general day to day activities. Furthermore these types ofgarments are not considered fashionable or suitable in certainsituations.

There are many riders who want to wear fashion garments such as denimjeans or jackets. The problem with wearing such fashion garments whenriding is that they do not offer much protection if an accident occurs,in particular where a rider may fall off their motorcycle and then hitand skid along the hard bitumen of the road. On impact, denim willsplit, tear and offer little or no protection to the rider. Depending onthe severity of the impact, the rider could be left with only abrasions;alternatively there may be significant loss of skin and flesh.

More recently, fashion garments such as those made of denim have hadpatches of protective and abrasion resistant material stitched to theinside of the denim only at those points of the garment considered to bemost likely to impact the ground should a rider fall off their bike.That is, there are only a few selected.

Another problem with those garments with protective patches is that theprotective patches are sewn on the inside of the garment with the samepiece of thread used to join the protective patches to the denim. Thatis the protective patches are joined directly to the denim by the sameseam. If the denim seam splits, so does that of the protective material.Furthermore, when a rider falls off the motorcycle, the garment cantwist and the protective material may not be protecting the same part ofthe body during impact as when the rider is mounted on the motorcycle.

In addition these fashion garments are often treated in a number ofways, such as bleached, chemically washed, heavy stone washed, sandblasted etc. If the protective material is stitched into the garmentthen when the garment is treated, the protective material fibres areweakened and thus the treatment reduces its effectiveness and ability towithstand abrasion. This also is not desirable.

Outlined above are a number of difficulties with providing a fashiongarment with protection for riders.

If riders want to wear fashion garments they have only a few options,one is to wear these fashion garments when riding and risk significantinjury if they fall off. Another option, is to wear the fashion itemsunder the protective clothing but be very uncomfortable and hot whenriding, alternatively they can carry a change of clothes for when theyarrive at their destination. This is clearly inconvenient.

It is an object of this invention to provide motorcyclists and thoseinvolved in similar activities with garments which provide protectionbut are acceptable as fashion garments.

Any discussion of documents, devices, acts or knowledge in thisspecification is included to explain the context of the invention. Itshould not be taken as an admission that any of the material formed partof the prior art base or the common general knowledge in the relevantart in Australia or any other country on or before the priority date ofthe claims herein.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to a first aspect of the present invention there is provided aprotective garment, such as trousers or a jacket, having an outer layer,preferably a fashion material such as denim, and a protective innerlayer, preferably abrasion resistant material including a light, strongpara-aramid synthetic fibre, such as Kevlar®, and more preferablytreated para-aramid fibre, such as brushed Kevlar®. The inner layerlines substantially the whole of the inside of the garment and issecured to the outer layer only at corresponding edges of the inner andouter layers which occur at openings of the garment.

Preferably the Kevlar® inner layer is removably secured to the denimouter layer. It is desirable that the Kevlar® layer is secured to thedenim layer by means of one or more zips or by hook-and-loop fasteners,such as Velcro®.

Alternatively, the Kevlar® inner layer may be permanently secured to theouter denim layer. The Kevlar® inner layer may be secured to the denimouter layer by stitching.

The protective garment in one form is a pair of trousers. The innerprotective Kevlar® layer and outer denim layer are secured together, toform the trousers, at one or more of the following openings: cuffs atthe ankles, cuffs at the calves, or at the waist band region.

The inner protective Kevlar® layer of the trousers preferably includestwo leg portions wherein each leg portion is only joined by a seam onthe inside of the leg portion.

In another form the protective garment is a jacket. The inner protectiveKevlar® layer and outer fashion garment denim layer are securedtogether, to form the jacket, at one or more of the following: cuffs atthe wrists, cuffs at the forearms, collar, base of the jacket or frontportion of the jacket.

The inner protective Kevlar® layer of the jacket preferably includes twoarm portions wherein each arm portion is only joined by a seam on theinside of the arm portion.

The protective Kevlar® layer of the jacket or trousers preferablyincludes a plurality of pockets for receiving protective inserts. It isdesirable that the plurality of pockets overlap for receiving theprotective inserts at alternative selectable positions. Preferably thelocation of the pockets includes one or more of the following: hip area,knee area, shoulder area or elbow area. The advantage of this is thatthe protective inserts can be placed at the appropriate height for thewearer so that they cover the knee, elbow, hip or shoulder of thewearer.

The protective garment in accordance with the present invention hasseveral advantages. In particular, because the inner layer substantiallylines the whole of the outer layer, the rider is protected no matter onwhich part of the body they fall.

An additional advantage of the preferred embodiment of the invention isthat the protective Kevlar® layer is removable. Therefore, the rider canwear the garment when riding, but when they reach their destination, therider can remove the inner Kevlar® layer so they are not too hot, andmore comfortable, but they can still keep wearing their fashionabledenim jacket or trousers. A further advantage to the Kevlar® layer beingremovable is that the outer denim layer can be treated by bleaching,chemical washing, stone washing and sand blasting etc without having totreat the Kevlar® layer at the same time. If the Kevlar® layer weretreated at the same time this would weaken the Kevlar® fibre and reducethe effectiveness of the Kevlar® layer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

It will be convenient to further describe the invention with respect tothe accompanying drawings which illustrate preferred embodimentsthereof. Other embodiments of the invention are possible, andconsequently, the particularity of the accompanying drawings is not tobe understood as superseding the generality of the preceding descriptionof the invention.

FIG. 1—A front view of a preferred embodiment of the present inventionwhere a protective garment is in the form of trousers wherein an innerprotective layer is secured to an outer fashion layer, as a rider wouldnormally wear.

FIG. 2—A front view of the inner protective layer of FIG. 1 according toa preferred embodiment of the present invention

FIG. 3—A front view, when turned inside out, of a preferred embodimentof the present invention where the inner protective layer of thetrousers of FIG. 2 is secured to the outer fashion layer.

FIG. 4—A rear view of the trousers shown in FIG. 3.

FIG. 5—A front view of the inner protective layer according to anotherpreferred embodiment of the present invention showing overlappingpockets for receiving protective inserts.

FIG. 6—A front view, when turned inside out, of the inner protectivelayer of the trousers of FIG. 5 secured to the outer fashion layer.

FIG. 7—A rear view of the trousers shown in FIG. 6.

FIG. 8—A front view of the inner protective layer of another preferredembodiment of the present invention where the protective garment is inthe form of a jacket.

FIG. 9—A front view, when turned inside out, of the inner protectivelayer of the jacket of FIG. 8 secured to an outer fashion layer.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

The present invention will now be described with reference to apreferred embodiment where FIG. 1 shows a protective garment in the forma conventional of a pair of trousers or jeans 1 having an outer layer 2made of material, usually fashion material such as denim, and aprotective inner layer 3. The protective inner layer 3 linessubstantially the whole of the inside of the trousers 1. The inner layeris secured to the outer layer only at corresponding edges of the innerand outer layers which occur at openings of the garment.

FIG. 2 shows a front view of the inner protective layer 3 of the pair oftrousers. In a preferred embodiment the inner layer of the trousers ismade from abrasion resistant material including a light weight, strongpara-aramid synthetic fibre, such as Kevlar®. The para-aramid syntheticfibre is treated with needles on one side, making that side muchsmoother and softer than the regular Kevlar®. This is referred to asbrushed Kevlar®. Therefore when the treated side of the Kevlar® isplaced against the skin of the wearer it is very comfortable and almostsmooth, but not itchy or scratchy.

The Kevlar® layer 3 substantially lines the whole of the inside of thetrousers, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. It is advantageous for theprotective layer to line as much of the garment as possible. If onlycertain areas of the inside of the denim layer are lined with theKevlar® layer, such as thighs and bottom, then only those certainsections of the riders body may be protected. In addition, during a falland skid along a road the trousers are not necessarily going to stay inthe same position on the body as when the rider is riding. It ispossible for the trousers to twist and even bunch up. If this occurs thepatches of lining may not be over the same section of body parts as theywere intended to protect. It is also possible that the outer denim layerof the trousers will split or tear, leaving the rider's body exposedwhen the rider has a fall. If there was no Kevlar® liner on the insideof the denim then parts of the rider's body will be exposed to the road.By having the trousers fully lined, if a rider does have a fall andskids along the road, even if the trousers twist around or the outermaterial layer splits, the whole of the rider's legs will be protected.

The Kevlar® layer 3 is secured to the denim layer 2 only atcorresponding edges of the Kevlar® and denim layers which occur at theopenings 5 of the trousers. It will be appreciated that the openings cantake various forms depending on the garment. In FIGS. 1-4 the openingsare at the waist band region and the cuffs at the ankles. However, theopenings could also be cuffs at the calves if the trousers are of a ¾length.

It is advantageous that the Kevlar® layer is secured at the openings ofthe trousers because, if it were not secured at the openings, it wouldbe possible for the Kevlar® to roll up while the rider is travelling. Ifthe Kevlar® has rolled up (or down) and the rider were then to have afall the Kevlar® layer will not be able to protect the ridereffectively. In addition, it is also possible for the Kevlar® to roll upwhen the rider falls off and skids along the asphalt. Therefore it isadvantageous that the Kevlar® layer is secured at the openings of thetrousers for also this reason.

The outer denim layer and inner Kevlar® layer can be removably securedthrough the use of a zip 7 as shown in FIGS. 1-4. Alternatively, Velcro®can be used. There are several advantages of having the Kevlar® layersecured to the denim trousers by zips. One advantage is that the ridercan zip the Kevlar® layer into the trousers before riding to theirdestination. While they are riding they are protected. When they arriveat their destination, they can remove the Kevlar® layer so as to be morecomfortable but still wear their fashionable clothing without the needfor a change of clothing.

Another advantage is that manufacturers can treat the outer denim layerto make fashion clothing without affecting the properties of the innerKevlar® layer. Manufacturers can take out the inner Kevlar® layer beforetreating the denim by bleaching, stonewashing, grinding etc. and thenzip the Kevlar® layer back in. If the denim was treated while theKevlar® layer was secured to it, the Kevlar® would be weakened by thetreatment and would lose its effectiveness to resist abrasion.Therefore, if a rider wearing trousers having a Kevlar® layer that havebeen treated in some manner, has a fall, the Kevlar® layer will besignificantly less resistant to abrasion than the Kevlar® layer that hasnot been treated.

Alternatively, in an embodiment not shown in the drawings, the twolayers can be permanently secured by stitching.

A unique attribute of either embodiment is that each leg portion 4 ofthe Kevlar® layer is only joined by one seam down the inner leg 6, whichis the region of the leg portion which faces the other leg portion.There are no seams on the outer side of the leg or the front or back ofthe leg. The seam is stitched using Kevlar® thread to add additionalstrength and enhance the resistance to abrasion, even at the seam.

This attribute of only having one seam 6 on the inside leg isadvantageous because, although it is not possible to determine how arider will fall off a motorcycle, when riders do fall they will mostlikely fall on the outside of the body including the leg or arm.Therefore if the Kevlar® layer was made in the conventional manner,including seams on the outer side of the leg, when a rider fell, therewould be more pressure on the seam and it would come apart more quicklythan a seam on the inside of the leg. By only having the seam on theinside of the leg, the Kevlar® layer is continuous on the outside of theleg, providing increased protection for the rider.

For added protection, in another preferred embodiment, as shown in FIGS.5-7, the Kevlar® layer includes pockets 8 and 9 for receiving protectiveinserts. The pockets 8 and 9 would usually be located at points therider is most likely to impact if they have a fall, such as hips andknees. The protective inserts can be solid and/or flexible and addadditional protection from abrasion, as well as impact, should a riderhave a fall. For example the protective inserts could be made ofpolycarbonate or metal such as titanium. The protective inserts are notlimited to these examples.

In a further preferred embodiment the multiple pockets 9 overlap so thatthe rider can select where the protective insert will be placed. This isadvantageous because the position of each person's knees are differentand do not necessarily correspond to the same position or part of thegarment. By having multiple pockets at slightly differing locations, thewearer can decide the most comfortable and appropriate position to placethe protective inserts for added protection.

In another preferred embodiment, the protective garment is a jacket asshown in FIGS. 8 and 9. Here it can be seen that the openings 10 are atthe cuffs at the wrist, the opening at the front of the jacket, thecollar and the bottom of the jacket. However, the openings could also beat cuffs at the forearms if the jacket sleaves are of a ¾ length.

As in the previous embodiment, the inner Kevlar® layer and outer denimlayer can be removably secured by means of zips 11. Alternatively,Velcro® can be used. The Kevlar® and denim layers of the jacket can alsobe permanently secured by stitching the layers together. The thread usedfor stitching is preferably Kevlar® thread as this adds additionalstrength to the garment.

The protective jacket shown in FIGS. 8 and 9 can also have pockets (notshown) for receiving protective inserts. The pockets can be located atthe shoulders and elbow areas, but are not limited to these positions.In a further embodiment (also not shown) the pockets overlap so that therider can select where the protective insert will be placed in theshoulder or elbow areas. This ensures the rider is comfortable and alsoprotected since the protective inserts will sit in the correct position,that is, over the shoulder and elbows of the wearer.

Variations can be made to the above-described arrangements withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention as described hereinor as claimed in the appended claims. For example the outer layer couldbe made of corduroy, high performance nylon, such as Cordura® or thegarment could be in the form of a shirt, dress or overalls.

1. A protective garment having an outer layer and a protective innerlayer, wherein the protective inner layer lines substantially the wholeof the inside of the garment and the inner layer is secured to the outerlayer only at corresponding edges of the inner and outer layers whichoccur at openings of the garment.
 2. The protective garment according toclaim 1 wherein the inner layer is removably secured to the outer layer.3. The protective garment according to claim 2 wherein the inner layeris secured to the outer layer by means of one or more zips.
 4. Theprotective garment according to claim 2 wherein the inner layer issecured to the outer layer by hook-and-loop fasteners.
 5. The protectivegarment according to claim 1 wherein the inner layer is permanentlysecured to the outer layer.
 6. The protective garment according to claim5 wherein the inner layer is secured to the outer layer by stitching. 7.The protective garment according to claim 1 wherein the protective innerlayer is made of abrasion resistant material, including para-aramidfibre.
 8. The protective garment according to claim 7 wherein theabrasion resistant material is made of treated para-aramid fibre.
 9. Theprotective garment according to claim 1 wherein the garment is a pair oftrousers.
 10. The protective garment according to claim 9 wherein theopenings of the garment include one or more of the following: cuffs atthe ankles, cuffs at the calves, or the waist band region.
 11. Theprotective garment according to claim 10 wherein the inner protectivelayer includes two leg portions and each leg portion is only joined by aseam on the inside of said leg portion.
 12. The protective garmentaccording to claim 1 wherein the garment is a jacket.
 13. The protectivegarment according to claim 12 wherein the openings of the garmentinclude one or more of the following: cuffs at the wrists, cuffs at theforearms, collar, base of the jacket or front portion of the jacket. 14.The protective garment according to claim 13 wherein the innerprotective layer includes two arm portions and each arm portion is onlyjoined by a seam on the inside of said arm portion.
 15. The protectivegarment according to claim 1 wherein the protective inner layer includesa plurality of pockets for receiving protective inserts.
 16. Theprotective garment according to claim 15 wherein the plurality ofpockets overlap for receiving protective inserts at alternativeselectable positions.
 17. The protective garment according to claim 16wherein the location of the pockets for receiving protective insertsincludes one or more of the following: hip area, knee area, shoulderarea or elbow area.